Re-opened McDonald’s honors firefighters

A steady flow of customers returned Tuesday to McDonald’s which hosted a grand opening event after a devastating fire on June 2, 2014.

Owners/operators William and Joanne Brown and their daughter Kristen Fraser decided to make the firefighters a focal point of the event.

The restaurant fed all of the firefighters that showed up from the Lincoln Fire Company and Pioneer Fire Company.

The fire companies, their families and local officials made their way to the restaurant for a 6 p.m. ceremony where McDonald’s gave back to the community.

“This kicks-off a month of in-restaurant specials and a special check presentation to Lincoln Fire Company 1 and Pioneer Fire Company to recognize their bravery and assistance during the June 2014 fire,” Fraser said.

Both fire companies received $1,000 checks from the McDonald’s franchisees.

The fire forced Fraser and the Browns to completely raze and rebuild the restaurant in the Cloister Shopping Center at 140 N. Reading Road. To keep it on the same footprint as the former one, the new restaurant required some customized building plans that delayed its reopening.

The restaurant has a second floor for storage as well as a drive-thru lane on the opposite side of where it would be in a typical McDonald’s, Fraser said.

The 90-seat restaurant only has one drive-thru lane, but Fraser said that during busy times, employees will use hand-held devices to take orders at customers’ vehicles.

When the restaurant was originally built 40 years ago, it didn’t have a drive-thru. When a drive-thru was added, it created awkward lines of cars that the new restaurant is designed to mitigate.

The restaurant will open with 60 employees but will eventually have nearly 80.